Tamed
by Nice-one
Summary: Damon/Jenna one piece. No romance, just friendship. Sort of. Jenna knows the type and just isn't impressed. Damon begs to differ as he lands a helping hand. Contains some Damon/Elena undertones.


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. I'm just not that lucky.**

**Summary: Damon/Jenna one-piece. No romance, just friendship. Sort of. Jenna knows the type and just isn't impressed. Damon begs to differ as he lands a helping hand. Contains some Damon/Elena undertones.**

**A/N: So, I really enjoyed writing the short witty banter between Jenna and Damon in some of my other stories and it sort of inspired me to write this. I don't know what it is or if it's any good, but I really like Jenna and I wish she was a bigger part of the show and I think she's pretty much the only who can verbally take on Damon. She's always so bitchy to him, but in that sort of endearing way. I love that. I think they could even challenge the epic Damon/Alaric bromance. ;-) So that's why I wrote this. I thought you might enjoy it.**

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**TAMED**

Jenna was seriously agitated the moment she exited the supermarket. She hated grocery shopping, even more so when this was the largest supermarket in town and they literally had two employees working the store today, incompetent ones at that. It just frustrated her and made her want to take over the whole thing and fix everything that had to be fixed. So yeah, she had issues of the organizing kind. It was funny in a way, since in everyday life she was as chaotic as the supermarket she'd just left, but whenever she saw it with somebody else or within her job, she had this strong urge to fix it. Whichever way. And knowing she couldn't this time, resulted into a moment of withdrawal when she walked away from it. Her hands were itching and she was seriously tempted to go back in and give them a piece of her mind, but she managed to keep walking, shifting the paper bags in her arms every now and then to keep them from falling over. In her head she tried to get her 'to do-list' straight, knowing it was endless as usual. Laundry, cooking, preparing that presentation for tomorrow and above all talk to Elena and get it clear what was going on with her, since she had been distracted lately. Same with Jeremy. Great. She was such a suck-y parental figure. She didn't even a clue as to what was going on in the lives of the kids. They could be doing drugs or be on their way to a life of crime and she wouldn't have a clue. It was exhausting to be the cool aunt all the time and let them wander free, pretending to be okay with it. So it was decided. She was going to sit those two down and get to the bottom of things. It was obvious they had some major things going on in their lives. She was done being the cool aunt, she was going to be a parental figure. For real this time. So there. Now she just had to figure it where to fit that into her schedule. Before or after laundry?

Jenna managed to withhold a swear word (parental figure, remember?) when the first paper bag started to fall. She ducked, intending to grab it before falling to the ground, but therefore also dropping the other paper bag. The apples on top of one of the bags hit the ground and scattered all over the parking lot. It felt like a cheesy cliché from a movie and she resisted the urge to look around for that dashing stranger to help her out and whose hand she would touch as they both went for the same apple, causing instant sparks to fly. She smiled a little at the thought. What was she doing? Fantasizing about handsome strangers when she already had the perfect guy in her life? She crouched down, ignoring the pain from the still healing wound on her stomach and her hand went for the apple closest to her. She almost shrieked when from the corner of her eye another hand appeared and covered hers as she grabbed the apple. Her head went up and she was greeted by the features of a dashing, handsome…

"Damon." She sighed, getting up and placing the first apple back in the paper bag. "Can I help you?"

The dark, but not-so-much stranger smirked. "I think the question is: can I help _you_?"

"I've got it. Thanks." She told him, suspiciously. "I'll see you around."

She was desperately praying he'd get the hint, not in the mood to deal with him.

"Don't be stubborn. I'll give you a hand. You're still hurt." He announced as he randomly started grabbing the apples around him. Jenna watched him, still standing up, holding only one of the paper bags. When his hands were full he stood up straight and took a few steps towards her, his piercing blue eyes locking with hers as he dropped the apples in the bag without even looking down. The impossible grin was decorating his face and Jenna had to do her best not to roll her eyes at him.

"Don't bother. The flirting might work with any other girl in this town, but not with me." She told him.

"Flirting?" Damon smiled, still standing impossibly close to her which, in all fairness, did make her a little uncomfortable. "This is not flirting. I'm simply helping out a beautiful woman in need of a hand."

"Oh, cut it out." Jenna told him, giving him a look. "You don't know how to deal with women, other than flirt with them. I know the type and I'm not impressed."

"You're a little impressed." Damon countered, so full of himself that she could vomit. "And that's okay. I'm just that irresistible."

"Ugh." She reacted, this time rolling her eyes. "You're severely overestimating yourself and it's not a good look. This isn't going to work on me, Damon. You don't get to kiss Elena and then flirt with me, her _aunt_ in case you forgot."

"I never kissed Elena." Damon immediately replied, frowning slightly, then recovering. "Not really."

"I caught you two on the porch! Nice to see it meant that much to you that you don't even remember. You just confirmed every prejudice I ever had about you."

Jenna bent over to grab the other paper bag that was still on the ground, not bothering to pay any more attention to the obnoxious man standing in front of her.

"Oh, _that_!" He then nodded. "No, I remember. Wasn't what it looked like though. _Trust _me."

"I know what I saw." Jenna told him, eye to eye with him again. "And I'm telling you right now that if I ever find out you hurt her in any way, you'll be dealing with me. And I'm not nice."

"Have you given my brother the same speech? He's the one kissing her on a regular basis. Just saying." He shrugged.

"No, you see, Stefan I trust. You, on the other hand…"

"Jenna." Damon teasingly pleaded with her. "I'm stopping you right there, because there are words about to come out of your mouth that I know you just don't mean. And if you do, I'm offended. You don't even know me."

"I know enough." Jenna concluded, giving him the once-over, before starting to walk off. She wasn't even surprised when Damon rushed to catch up with her. She knew the type. They were persistent. And annoying.

"At least let me carry the bags to the car for you." He offered. "Stab wound to the stomach, remember?"

"I got it." She assured him.

Of course this was Damon's cue to reach out to the bags anyway and take them from her, not giving her the time to object. She sighed theatrically.

"You're not just gonna go away, are you?" Jenna fake smiled to Damon, who simply flashed her one of his undeniably irresistible smiles.

"Nope."

Jenna sighed again as she stopped walking. "What do you want, Damon? What's this about? Why does it matter what I think of you?"

"Well, I already _know _the answer to that last one. You think I'm ridiculously hot. Said it yourself." Damon answered, frowning, but his smile not faltering as he gave her look.

Jenna placed one hand on her hip. "Is that what you want to hear? That I find you attractive? Is that what you need to hear to boost your ego or something? Oh wait, that can't be it. Your ego is _already_ big enough to fill up this parking lot."

"You wound me, Jenna. You do." Damon smirked as he started to walk towards her car again.

Jenna watched him take a few steps, then she caught up with him. Great, now she was the one walking after Damon Salvatore. She truly hated herself right now.

"What is this, Damon?"

"What? I can't try to get in your good graces again?"

"You can try, but you'll fail." She bitched, the words coming out harsher than intended.

Damon chuckled. "See, this is why I like you. You're _feisty_."

"Why do you even want to get in my good graces? Is it because of Elena?"

Jenna reached in the pocket of her jeans and got out her car keys as she awaited his answer. Damon immediately took them from her, balancing the two paper bags on one arm with surprising ease. He pressed the button to unlock the trunk as he turned to Jenna. She saw how he was about to open his mouth and she found how she couldn't resist asking the question that had been going through her mind for a while now.

"You like her, don't you?" She asked, before he had the chance to say anything.

Damon's ever present smirk instantly disappeared as he opened the trunk.

"Why do you keep bringing up Elena?" He asked, not looking at her.

"Because she's the only reason I can think of that makes it so important to you that I like you."

"Don't sell yourself short, Jenna. It is possible that I just want to you to like me because I like you."

"It's possible, but highly unlikely. What is with you and Elena anyway?"

The question sounded casual, but she was genuinely curious. Elena never bothered to give up any information on the subject and it was in Jenna's curious nature to wonder. She wasn't stupid and she'd noticed the tension between them, not to mention her front row seat to _the kiss._

"We're friends."

"You kissed."

"We're _good_ friends." Damon shrugged.

"She loves Stefan." Jenna stated.

"Oh, I'm aware of that."

"And you're older than she is."

"You're not wrong." He nodded as he placed the bags in the trunk and turned to Jenna. "Are you done prying?"

Not even close.

"It hurts, doesn't it? To love somebody who doesn't love you back?" She blurted, suddenly fitting the pieces together as she saw something in Damon's eyes she had never seen before. A kind of vulnerability that she'd searched for in every low- life scumbag she'd ever dated, but never managed to find.

"So now you're assuming I _love _Elena?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow, pretending to be okay with the subject, but not succeeding in hiding that he was slightly uncomfortable.

"I have eyes. I see the way you look at her." Jenna challenged him.

Damon sighed, his eyes focused on Jenna. "What do you want me to say?"

"You don't have to admit it. I just… I just don't want her to get hurt. I don't want you to hurt her."

Damon took a deep breath, visibly pondering his next words for just a second. "I couldn't if I wanted to."

"Good." She nodded, looking down for a second.

"So where does that leave me? The promise not to hurt Elena? Carrying your bags? I say that earns me some brownie points." Damon cockily announced, his smirk firmly back in place, apparently deciding _he_ was the one who had to be in control of the conversation and not the other way around.

Jenna tilted her head. "Maybe."

"I'm not the devil, Jenna."

"I never said you were."

Damon nodded slowly and then motioned to the bags. "Can you take it from here?"

"Yeah." Jenna assured him. "Thanks for the help."

Damon stepped forward and closed the space between them. It startled her as he looked straight into her eyes again, making her feel slightly uneasy. But she'd rather die than admit that, so she returned the stare as confidently as possible. She then felt his soft touch on her hand. Her first instinct was to pull away, but it was then that she felt the cold metal of her car keys as he gently placed them in her hand, his touch lingering just a little too long, before dropping his arm back to his side.

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will." She promised him, surprising herself when there wasn't even a hint of sarcasm in her words.

"Don't go around carrying heavy things like this again. You need to be careful. You got hurt pretty bad."

"I know."

Damon seemed to hesitate for a second. "I'm serious, you know. And if there's no one around to help with these things…just call me."

Jenna squinted suspiciously. "Okay. Who are you and what have you done with Damon Salvatore?"

"I told you, you didn't know me." He smirked. "I have _some_ redeemable qualities. I'm no Saint Stefan, but he's in a league of his own, so you can't hold that against me."

"He makes her happy, Damon." Jenna spoke sincerely, but gently.

"And so I'll continue to live in his shadow. We all have our crosses to bear." He smirked sadly.

The words surprised her, but she decided not to get into them.

"Thanks again for the help."

"You're very welcome. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, you will."

He gave her a quick nod before walking off, Jenna following him with wondering eyes. He'd surprised her and while she was convinced that some of it had been smooth talking and that these kind of guys were the masters of charming their way back in, she believed this particular guy. She even felt for him. And while she didn't like the fact that he was in love with her teenage niece, she knew she didn't have anything to worry about. He'd look after her. Always. She smiled as she remembered how she'd dated hundreds of scumbags, always believing that she could be the one to change them. And now, after finally having given up on that idea, she was proven wrong. Even the bad guys could be tamed. And it really did only take _one girl._

Huh.

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**A/N: Yeah, this was completely random, I know. ;-) ****I always find it difficult to write Damon all vulnerable like this, but I hope it shows that all of this also came from the guilt he feels. He feels responsible for getting Jenna hurt after provoking Katherine. Like maybe he felt like he owed her some honesty when she asked about Elena. If that makes sense at all. ;-) Anyway, reviews would be lovely!**

**Stef**


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